A very dear friend of mine recently told me he is about to order a new 5 series (2014) to replace his current 3 series, ( 2011, 335 xdrive. 17.000 Km) every option available when orderederd new, and I mean everything...... Price he is asking is ....... $42,000 cdn . My delima is my dream car ( as is many a BMW fanatic is an M3) is obtainable at that price but at a higher mileage......... What would choose? My friends car has been maintained better than anyone could possibly hope for.....

A very dear friend of mine recently told me he is about to order a new 5 series (2014) to replace his current 3 series, ( 2011, 335 xdrive. 17.000 Km) every option available when orderederd new, and I mean everything...... Price he is asking is ....... $42,000 cdn . My delima is my dream car ( as is many a BMW fanatic is an M3) is obtainable at that price but at a higher mileage......... What would choose? My friends car has been maintained better than anyone could possibly hope for.....

Easy... The M3... Just make sure it's got warranty. You can get a pretty good deal for around $45-50K

I wouldn't buy the 335. I know at least 3 owners.
First: HPFP changed once before 50k (km)
Second: HPFP changed once before 60k (km)
Third: Chipped N54, HPFP changed twice, turbos and wastegate replaced (because the wastegate was noisy and its integrated with the turbos they had to replace the whole assembly), spark plugs replaced twice before 70k (km)
BMW has extended the warranty on the HPFP to 10 years or 200,000km. Guess why they did this.
As much tq as that car has for daily driving, its no where near the M3 level. BMW's xDrive is a very good system though.

It's a great great deal, and we happen to face these dilemmas often.
But that itself isn't cheap money, you are spending a good amount for the next car, search a bit more and wait for "your" M3. Get what you want and never regret.

Quote:

Originally Posted by bsiciliano

As many people have said before, nobody in an M3 has ever rolled up to a 328 or 335 and said to themselves "damn, I wish I got that car instead."

I bought a low mileage 335i because I couldn't afford and M3 at the time (I thought, but was WAY wrong). If money is an issue and you expect your financial situation to improve, I highly recommend you consider leasing an M3. I paid $30k, USD, for my 335i with 27k miles. That's $600/mo, add in the $7-10k I spend on mods, and it cost me a hell of a lot more in the few years I owned it than the $700/mo. lease payment on my M.

Put another way, I'd have way more $$ in my pocket if I'd just leased an M in the first place.

M3 or you'll always regret not getting it, hang on until you can afford what you really want.

I had a 335i and it was a nice car, but definitely not an M. I had also injectors and HPFP replaced multiple times. Initially I was hoping to keep the car for a while, but with these problems I got rid of it after around 50k.

Get the M3. They are far better in terms of handling and driving experience. Not to mention the M3 is far more reliable than the problematic 335i. If you really need AWD, then for that kind of money you can get a brand new sti or evo x instead. Not as luxurious but far better in terms of the driving experience.

You don't want to be the guy in the regular 3 series when the M3 rolls up next to you at the stoplight.

Well that wont happen where i live, population of only 45000 and there are only a few BMW's here and zero M's. Was just thinking lots of warrenty and x-drive would be nice to have for peace of mind driving.